Tag: street missions

Doyle Robinson can’t remember the exact amount of years that Valerie Biggs has been volunteering for Sox Place but he does recall the exact chain of events and the network of people that brought her here.

Regardless of Doyle’s memory, three years ago Valerie recalls being introduced to Sox Place. A friend of hers had told her that Doyle would take all of her food donations and so she found her way down here to donate some extra food she had on hand. However, when she arrived she realized they needed more than just her food donations.

“I walked in and thought that Doyle was in desperate need of someone to help organize the food pantry and the donations that came in,” she said.

A once unorganized Sox Place was blessed by Valerie and her friend Michelle. “I felt like I couldn’t walk away from the project of straightening and organizing, and I really wanted to help make everything easier on Doyle and the staff on a regular basis,” said Valerie.

Doyle and Jordan were up to their ears with other concerns and didn’t have time to keep the pantry organized when new donations came flooding in. But Valerie stepped in and has made a big impact by volunteering regularly to organize.

“She knows why she’s here and she does what Jordan and I are not good at,” said Doyle. “To me volunteers should fill in the gaps and do the things that we aren’t great at or don’t have the time to spend on.”

Volunteering for Sox Place not only made a big difference in the effectiveness of operations and organization but it has also touched Valerie in a way that keeps bringing her back.

“Every time I go in to volunteer or I’m reading the Sox Place blog I am humbled and reminded how easily I could have been one of the kids at Sox Place. Although my husband and I have a great life together now, our adolescent experiences aren’t much different than those who receive services from Sox Place. It is an honor to give my assistance to everyone who walks through the doors,” she said.

I recently read an article that the National Runaway Safe Line (NRS) posted on their twitter about kids that runaway from home. They reported that 34% of runaway youth (girls and boys) reported sexual abuse before leaving home and 43% of runaway youth (girls and boys) reported physical abuse before leaving home.

This caught my attention because the kids that we have the privilege of serving and loving are many many many times runaway’s. Ranging from young teenage kids to young adults who have traded the unsafe place they were supposed to call home for the unsafe place of the streets. Often times young adults will engage in “survival sex” in exchange for food, shelter, or money.

This is where Sox Place steps in, at least for a few hours a day. We provide FREE clothing, FREE food, and FREE hygiene products. Most importantly we provide a safe place with safe people. The people we engage with daily do not have security, but when they are here, they do.

Sox Place is not only attempting to serve the homeless. Sox Place is addressing sexual assault by being kind hearted and treating everyone with love and respect, something they don’t receive in the other areas of their lives. If you have a heart for those that have suffered sexual assault and abuse and if you want to support Sox Place in helping these kids survive, please consider navigating to our donate page so that our doors may stay open for the bruised and broken kids that have no home.